Sometimes I just don't understand.

Today involved a two-hour lunch with a lot of awesome conversation.  It also involved a lot of things that made me scratch my head.

The point at which I decided I was just going to get a headache and there wasn't much I could do about it... when my student said that 1) he wants to live a simple life in a small city.  A few minutes later, he said that 2) he wants to be a billionaire.  Not long after, life goal 3) ...to be a monk.

Anyone else seeing some potential difficulties?

After lunch, he walked me back to my apartment, apparently not in any more of a rush for our conversation to end than he was for his final to end the day before.  "Can I come up?" he asked.  "I've never seen a western home before."

Well, okay, although I really don't think that my apartment is exactly a typical "western home".  So he followed me up three flights of stairs and stopped outside the threshhold of my door.  

"Come in, come in," I said.  I mean, basically what you can see from where he was standing is that I have a lot of post-its on the walls.

"Oh no no no," he responded.  "There is a saying in China."

I probably stopped whatever I was doing and looked at him, not sure what this saying was or how it was related to him not coming into my apartment.  If you're a man, you shouldn't go into a woman's house when it's just the two of you?  

"If you don't tell someone your name, then you don't really believe [trust] them," he said, and stopped again.  That happens a lot.  

"Um...." I said, or something similarly confused.  That also happens a lot.

"My name is --" he said, and went on to tell me his Chinese name, with a promise to explain its meaning later.

"Oh... thanks," I said, not sure what the proper way to respond was.  

"Yes," he told me.  "Have a happy life!"  He turned and began skipping down the steps.

"Um... see you next week."

He stopped.  "Hmm?"

"Next week, we have the exam.  So I will see you then..." I said, hoping that he remembered that.

"Oh, yes, of course," he said, looking perplexed about why I felt it necessary to tell him that.

I refrained from saying happy everyday, then! and we parted with something like bye.

...I love my students.